The Listowel Cyclones and Jungadler Manheim U20 stand during the national anthem before facing off on Saturday night in Listowel. (@CycsNation)

It was an eventful weekend for the Listowel Cyclones, as two Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League games sandwiched a more unique game that held fewer implications. After beating the Kitchener Dutchmen on Friday night, 3-2 in overtime, the Cycs played host to German U20 team Jungadler Manheim on Saturday. Manheim came to Listowel as the reigning champion of the DNL, which is the German equivalent to the GOJHL, while the Cyclones are reigning Sutherland Cup champs in their own right. The game promised to be an exciting, offensive battle, and it did not disappoint. 

Jungadler Manheim opened the scoring early in the first period and kept pouring it on the Cycs, who looked sluggish in the opening frame after an overtime victory the night prior. Manheim skated to a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes and Listowel tried to shake things up, putting backup goaltender Evan Morrison in goal to start the second. Manheim jumped on Morrison in a hurry, scoring to extend the lead to four almost right away. Shortly after, though, Listowel's leading scorer Holdyn Lansink would get one back for the home side as the Cycs looked to build some momentum. After more give and take, Jungadler took a 5-3 lead into the third. They would again extend that lead while the ice was still wet in the final period, seemingly having an answer every time Listowel tried to climb back into the game, eventually making the game 7-5 after the Cyclones cut the lead to one midway through the third. Later, with Jungadler on the powerplay looking to put the game away, Stevie Grant corralled a bouncing puck at the blueline and skated in on a breakaway, scoring his second of the night to once again bring Listowel to within one. In the final minute, with the goalie pulled and on a powerplay, Lansink found Jonah White back door with a slick cross-crease pass for the tap in, and just like that the game was tied at seven with 40 seconds remaining. Four-on-four overtime solved nothing, but in the three-on-three period David Mabey took a penalty giving Jungadler a powerplay, and Jan Nijenhuis scored his second of the game to give the Germans the 8-7 overtime victory. It was a wild finish to a wild game in which both teams displayed skill and sportsmanship, exchanging gifts before the game and shaking hands after it.

After an eventful night, Listowel was back to its GOJHL business on Sunday evening, visiting the Elmira Sugar Kings. It seemed as though the Cycs would carry the momentum they built the night before into Sunday as Chayse Herrfort scored unassisted just 36 seconds into the game. Elmira would answer later in the first before Stevie Grant scored to give Listowel a 2-1 lead going into the third, where things went sideways for the Cyclones. With Elmira shorthanded and down a goal, Jacob Black took over for the Sugar Kings. He scored a shorthanded goal to tie the game at two, then Elmira took another penalty, and Black promptly scored a second shorty to give the Sugar Kings the lead, shocking the Cyclones who were looking to put the game out of reach on the powerplay. Elmira held on and took this one, 3-2. 

The loss drops Listowel to third place in the Midwestern Conference, two points behind the Waterloo Siskins and one behind the Stratford Warriors, who were both winners over the weekend. Kitchener used two overtime losses to keep pace with Elmira, trailing the Sugar Kings for fourth place by one point. The Cambridge Redhawks sit in sixth place in their inaugural season, seven points clear of Brantford in seventh and 14 up on Brampton in eighth.